Te Puke main street carparks returned

Thirteen parking spaces are to be reinstated in Te Puke's main street this coming week.

The reinstatement of parking spaces follows the discovery of an error between the original plan prepared by town centre upgrade architects, Boffa Miskell, and the physical work done by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council's roading contractor WestLink.

Council's Infrastructure Services Group Manager Gary Allis says the mistake was highlighted to Council in a letter by the Te Puke Business Strategies Group and verified by Council staff and Boffa Miskell.

The mistake stemmed from the contractor not following the parking plan correctly, marking some parks wider in isolation of the others, which reduced the number spaces in the main street.

We'd like to thank the group for highlighting this error and apologise for the fact that there has been a reduced number of parks due to this. In implementing the design something has been lost in translation and we're working quickly to fix this.

Emily Schwartfeger from the Te Puke Business Strategies Group says the thorough re-investigation of the issue has vindicated the stance of the Te Puke Business Strategies group that has consistently argued there were more than eight parks lost in the new main street layout.

Gary says the work will be completed overnight the week commencing Monday (subject to weather) to avoid any disruption to motorist and shoppers. Areas will be clearly coned off by the contractor.

This work is being done with urgency to enable a full quota of car parks for the Christmas shopping period.

The cost of the work will be carried by WestLink and there will be no cost on ratepayers.